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TAWUG
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TAWUG Disk No. 36 (SHK)
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TAWUG.36.shk
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NETRO.NOTES.86G
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AppleWorks Document
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1986-06-27
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12KB
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200 lines
O=====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|====|===
ROBERT J. NETRO
1606 GREENWAY RD SE
NORTH CANTON, OH 44709
(216) 497-7540
June 15, 1986
Re: Netro.Notes.86G
Dear Bill and Lee:
GHave started a local AppleWorks User Group and need some guidelines on G
Ehow a Users Group might be organized to KISS (keep it Simple Stupid) K
Iwhile providing mutual benefits for members. If you can spare a copy of J
Hyour by-laws we would be very appreciative. Send them along with other E
Cguidelines you feel helpful and please include an invoice to cover J
Happlicable costs. As we progress, I will chronicle some of the startup F
Dproblems with suggestions for others in the event they have similar I
Gintentions. Picture numerous such organizations generating AppleWorks <
applications which can "sweeten the pot" for TAWUG disks.
FIn the event you haven't noticed BRAC is promoting TAWUG 1-28 both in H
Fthe Newsletter and on Disk Network (DN). Also George Osner the SYSOP G
Ewants feedback on whether or not to put some AppleWorks Templates on I
GSide 2 of DN. He is already devoting some message space to AppleWorks B
@questions and comments. From your vantage point this may be an F
Dexcellent opportunity to coordinate with George and put some of the I
G"best" into this medium which reaches many Apple Users. He apparently J
Hwill have to convert everything to DOS 3.3, and then we users will have D
Bto convert back to ProDOS for use by AppleWorks. These technical G
Eproblems are beyond my expertise, however I feel confident it can be
done.
To follow find a few comments on miscellaneous topics.
Sincerely yours,
Bob NetroK
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TO: TAWUG
FM: Bob Netro
EIn Notes.86F I tried to help William Jackson with computing Canadian K
Imortgage amortizations. With several assumptions a suggested method was I
Gsubmitted on disk. Not too many of us have this need, but the material H
Fincluded ways to compute effective yields which I thought might be of I
Ggeneral interest. Now I've found a reference to handle Bill's problem )
and it has potential value for others.
DIt is Texas Instrument's BA-II Executive Business Analyst financial B
@calculator with two handbooks. Retailing in the $50.00 range I H
Fpurchased one in a local catalog discount store for 29.00. Basically K
Ithe calculator handles Profit Margin, Financial, and certain Statistical I
Gfunctions. The extensive Real Estate capabilities (with explanations) E
Cdelves into not only U.S. amortizations but those for Canadian and G
EEuropean conventions. These are only a few of the over 150 types of H
Ffinancial calculations. The main guidebook devotes 1-3 pages to each G
Etype. A smaller Quick Reference Guide fits into the calculator case J
Hwhich can be carried in a suit coat inner pocket or easily in a woman's J
Hpurse. Even for $50.00 the package has tremendous value. Use it to do D
Bmany things which are not directly available in AppleWorks -- for I
example statistical applications and others which involve logorithms.
EIt is very handy to check certain calculations you may want to build K
Iinto an AppleWork's Spreadsheet. Overall capabilities make it a valuable I
Gcompanion in many business and personal applications. If nothing else
try it at your local store. K
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: TAWUG
Fm: Bob Netro
DAs an avid Apple and AppleWorks advocate I'm collecting examples of K
Isystem applications in organizations. These will be organized into case H
Fstudy reports eventually submitted for publication in handbook form. F
DContributors will receive interim reports as studies are compiled. I
GThose we now have are rather amazing and will demonstrate capabilities 8
beyond documentation in any existing book we know of.
DPlease take some time to describe what you use and how. Equipment, I
Gsoftware, and various applications in use provide a framework for each F
Dstudy. Gaps and perceived needs are also important and it is quite 9
possible we will be able to suggest ways to fill them.
AHere is a brief example of a friend's system. He has many other ?
projects in mind, but is already at a fairly advanced stage.
HMal J. is a golf-pro and runs the shop and his entire business using an I
GAIIe, an AII+, and AppleWorks plus a few AppleWorks related programs. E
CHe has educated employees enough so as far as computer aspects are H
Fconcerned he can be a true supervisor and developer of applications. J
HBoth computers have expanded RAM (768K) and the AII+ uses PlusWorks for I
GAppleWorks compatibility. His over 400 members have all their golfing I
Ginformation needs handled by the AIIe while the II+ is for back office E
Cfunctions. While many sales of clothing, golf equipment, etc. are I
Gcharged, both these and all cash sales are immediately recorded by the E
CAIIe using an intriguing Data Base file called upon at any time to F
Danswer questions on account status, and each month is used to print G
Estatements. Payroll is on a Spreadsheet which employs many features @
>such as LOOKUP, CHOOSE, etc. to handle a reasonable degree of
sophistication.
Other functions managed very capably by Mal and AppleWorks include: J
HAccounts Payable, Inventory Management, Scheduling, Membership Rosters, J
HPersonnel Records, and the list goes on and on. By this time next year K
Ihe will undoubtedly have one of the most complete stand alone AppleWorks H
Fsystems in existence. Admittedly "Print Shop" is employed for signs, @
>banners, etc., but he finds AppleWorks more than adequate for I
Gnewsletters, calendars, corresspondence, and announcements. A recent J
Haquisition is the Transwarp Accelerator card. This "put it in any slot I
Gand use" card is unbelievably fast. Customers who use
tsey
itsy G
achines are flabergasted as the screen "blinks" from one scene to
another.
GThis is but a brief overview. As we progress a study and accompanying K
Itemplates will be put on disk. While some of you may not have gone this H
Ffar, I really want every conceivable type of setup. By participating J
Hand receiving feedback on what others are doing you can more easily see 0
how to add on and improve what you are doing.
EDon't delay, make some type of contact. Let us and ultimately others K
Ihere what you are doing. Certainly include what you would like to do in
this area.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
To: TAWUG
FM: Bob Netro
SubJ: Mailmerge Programs
CEons ago I discussed the MacroWorks mailmerge and spelling checker K
Ipackage. Still used and favorably recommended, a few problems have been :
very frustrating. Indirectly the main ones are solved.
FFirst the problems. MacroWorks (MW) merges information drawn from an E
CAppleWorks Data Base (DB) file into a pre-formated AppleWorks Word I
GProcessor (WP) file. The DB info is first converted to a temporary WP F
Dfile and in effect MW works with the two WP files. The number of DB I
Grecords merged in any one cycle is determined by the familiar 250 line J
HClipboard limitation. If you wish to draw data from 10 categories in a I
GDB, 25 final merged documents is your limit in one cycle. The reasons G
Efor this are unimportant; the fact is it is rather time consuming to J
Hsend customized letters to more than this magic 25. Also as MacroWorks J
Hdevelops its product to ultimately be printed under AppleWorks control, K
Iit accrues a relatively large WP file or set of files. Therefore before D
Bstarting it pays to check space remaining on disk or more time is
wasted.
Solution.
Try International Apple Core's (IAC) AppleWorks Mailing J
HProgram (AMP). As an AppleWorks columnist for IAC, they recently asked K
Ime to provide assistance to people who call or write with AMP problems. H
FThey sent the program and I spent many hours digging very deeply into H
Fits structure, documentation, etc. This $30.00 package ($25.00 to IAC I
Gmembers) is what I had been looking for. If you want to send 50, 100, I
Gor any number of letters or other customized documents, the only limit I
Gis the number of records on your DB file. AMP is a program written in J
HApplesoft Basic and can easily be revised by enterprising hackers which J
Hin itself is a bonus. To use the program a few simple steps put you in
business.
HFirst create a Custom Printer to print to disk. Sounds complicated but K
Iisn't. From the AW Main Menu select 5, then 7, etc., following the menu H
Fpattern with appropriate selections. All of this is in documentation J
Hcontained on disk. Use an existing Data Base which contains the names, J
Haddresses, etc. you wish to merge into customized output. Or of course I
Gdevelop a new one. Create a report (preferably a labels report) which H
Fcontains at least the categories containing data to be merged. Print E
Cthis report to "text (ASCII) file on disk." Develop a form letter C
Ainputing some [MERGEx] identifiers. The "x" stands for a number K
Irepresenting the location of that category in the DB Report. Print this K
IWP file to "Disk
Printer
(disk)" which you created. Load AMP and follow E
Csimple selection procedures. The Basic program merges each letter G
Eone-by-one and prints them as merged moving on to the next one until I
Gthrough or until you press Esc(ape). Notice the MacroWorks limitation ,
is overcome. Throw MacroWorks away -- NO!
AMW and AMP are complimentary -- limitations of one are offset by E
Cstrengths of the other. Also MW has a more than adequate spelling F
Dchecker. While AMP produces output with very little effort on your I
Gpart, it has some limitations for which MW is the solution. In MW you K
Ihave all the printing format control normal to AW; in AMP you don't. In I
GMW you can insert data in the body of a letter with confidence that it K
Iwill appear properly spaced, etc.; in AMP it can be done but the outcome G
Eisn't as predictable. Incidently each of the AMP problems I've been A
?asked to solve involves someone wanting to use the program for
undocumented purposes.
Recommendations:
C 1. If you do a fair amount of customizing, want them to have ?
=flexible body inserts, and also want a spelling checker, buy ?
=both. MW retails for $125.00, but is available from several @
>discount houses at about $75.00. AMP at $25-$30 is a steal. 6
As it is only available from IAC, their address is:
IAC &
2278 Trade Zone Blvd $
San Jose, CA 95131
F 2. If you want to customize form letters but seldom insert into A
?the body of a letter -- and have no real spelling problems --
buy AMP.
F 3. If you send
merged
documents by modem, buy MW as AMP won't A
?allow this feature. The separate WP and DB files to be merged
can be sent however.
F 4. If you have an AII, AII+, or AIII, MacroWorks should work if A
?you can use AppleWorks.
The AMP documentation claims it will =
;only work on an AIIc or an AIIe with at least an 80 column =
;card.
My feeling is there is a good chance these earlier <
:models should be able to work with AMP if they can employ ?
=AppleWorks. School is out on this one as I'm still gathering
information.
TO: AII, AII+, AIII Owners
IPlease let me know if you have been able to use AMP. My golf-pro friend G
Esays AMP won't boot on his AII+. The only reason this seems to be a F
Dproblem would be if this model can't handle the required version of J
HApplesoft Basic. On this I claim ignorance although I'm trying to gain
some insight. K
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